Five more shows done and logged into the books, including Sacred Seven which I batched and cleared today. I also remembered to do the first episode of Working’!! which I’ll kick off this post with.
The intrepid crew of the Wagnaria are back in another season of Working’!! and from the first episode it promises to be as much fun as the last one. As one Twitterbro noted, nothing wrong with this except maybe less Inami. I actually like Inami, but I kinda hope they offer her a little less screen time this time around. No confirm if this is going to be a half or full season, but either way it promises to be entertaining fun, especially if you’ve worked in a restaurant before.
TLDR Watch This: Popura and Yamada, obviously. Oh and if you’ve ever read Victim Girls 9. Yes it’s a hentai doujin, but if you’ve read it, you know why I cannot help but laugh at Takanashi every time he is on screen. I expect him to strike a SHINY GLASSES pose every time he appears.
TLDR Don’t Watch This: If you aren’t Poplar enough, or you worked in a restaurant with terrible people.
Sub Group: Ayako-Himatsubushi
First Rating: 8
Very few series write a story that hits a wide range of chords, from comedy, to drama, to outright crazy, but Hanasaku Iroha does just that, and it does it without compromising a single character. In fact, they even managed to accomplish a feat unheard of up until now, I officially cannot name a “Least Favorite Character” for this series in my review, even the ice cold “Madam Manager” managed to end on a high note, as well as Minchi and Takkako.
I will say though, I am glad they drew this out in 26 episodes and didn’t try to cut it down to 13, because the full taste of this series would have been lost. It’s obvious a lot of effort was put into the details, from the location to the surroundings, as well as how each character played it. It really was hard to not like any one of them, which is why I decided to not list one this time. The short point is, this is a show that really earns the title of being a “slice-of-life” series for a more mature audience, as opposed to SoL’s usual audience. The story of Ohana’s time at the inn and the people she met, it plays out in such a way where you’re still surprised even in the last episode. So I’d definitely suggest you give this a watch, it’s worth it.
Title: Hanasaku Iroha
Sub Group I Watched: Horrible
Episodes: 26
Rating (1-10): 9
Favorite Character: Ohana
Least Favorite Character: None
Ohana, Minchi, or Nako? Nako. As much fun as Ohana was, Nako’s story was real underdog-ish, and I felt more could have been done.
No Least Favorite? Why No Minchi/Manager/Ko/? Honestly, as much as the Madam Manager, Minchi, and a few others pissed me off throughout the show, they all had redeeming arcs by the end that showed the viewer who they really were, and I couldn’t find fault in that. It was like listening to a real story.
…but… they could have done without Pervert Glasses. He was nearly useless in every way to the series.
I’m not sure KyoAni’s foray into this type of thing was the most successful venture of theirs in awhile, but they do enjoy trying to challenge boundaries. Nichijou was however, a lot of fun to watch when you don’t take it seriously. There are a lot of characters, and a lot to keep track of, especially since they took a format similar to Azumanga Daioh with short skits, but I think it worked out better this way than trying to do something similar to Pani Poni Dash where it was cramming short skit-like jokes into one longer running arc. A lot of folks though complained that it was unwatchable, but again, you have to attack it from the point of view that it’s like watching Saturday Night Live or another comedy show where things just happen randomly, for no reason. After that, it was pretty funny quite often. I will say though, the second half of the season was better than the first, Nano helped that out a lot. Give it a watch, I think anyone can find a little humor from it. But KyoAni should stick to what it’s good at.
Title: Nichijou
Sub Group I Watched: Horrible
Episodes: 26
Rating (1-10): 7
Favorite Character: Mio Naganohara
Least Favorite Character: Kana Nakamura
But It’s Just REACTIONFACE All the Time? So? If you’re a chantard you shouldn’t be surprised. It’s like non-stop DUBS threads.
But There Is NOPOLT! You weren’t around for “You Can’t Do That On Television” were you?
But… But… Just stop. I realize the hipster thing to do today is to rebel against current trends in anime because you want everything to be like it was a decade ago, but that’s like conservatives protesting the “sanctity” of marriage. Times have changed. Get over it.
I put a pause on Sacred Seven mid-way into the season because frankly it was boring. I’m happy to report that if you somehow managed to stick out the first half of the show to get to the last half, it was actually a pretty good ending. It’s chief problem is really storytelling, the basic premise of the show was a kid with special powers who was a social outcast, and after meeting a rock-obsessed girl and another rich girl who can control his powers, helps them defeat rock monsters, with the ultimate goal of… er… what was it again? Defeating the mad scientist? Bigger rock monsters? Others with Seven powers? Homework? That’s where this series lost focus about 3-4 episodes in, it just didn’t do the overal premise justice when they tried to split hairs with the plot and characters before reassembling them in time for the final few episodes. But that’s where the rocks shined was in the final episodes, and I admit I actually liked it. Too bad I didn’t like the beginning. gg’s subtitle trolling also didn’t help, but it did provide amusement, especially with Episode 5’s opening. But if you watch this show, watch it for the Battle Maids. Seriously, if I am ever to be caught in the crosshairs of a sniper, I do hope it’s a hot maid behind it.
Title: Sacred Seven
Sub Group I Watched: gg
Episodes: 12
Rating (1-10): 7
Favorite Character: Ruri Aiba
Least Favorite Character: Yuuji Kenbi
Mega Man or Viewtful Joe? Both really, it was like they took the two concepts and smashed them together, and added Blossom from The Powerpuff Girls.
Another Season? I hope not, I think Sunrise needs to stop trying to copy it’s success from Code Geass and work on either more Gundam, or something not Gundam that isn’t a mess.
gg Trolling: After Hidan no Aria I’ve become weary of what they sub since they do like to do stupid shit to be funny, but the FF8 references made me laugh, as well as the episode opening, so I’ll let is pass this time.
Ro-Kyu-Bu Loli Jam had a dual premise, it was a sports show, and a slice-of-life show about cute girls doing– er.. playing basketball. I found that halfway through, I just simply became disinterested with the entire lot. Overall it’s a good show with decent characters, but when it became apparent that the girl’s first major challenge in the boys team was over after the third or fourth episode, it became a series of trials and results, with Subaru the pervert loli fetish gag just overused in every episode. By the time I got to the end, it just felt like there could have been more they could have done to make it a little better. Compared to last season’s Moshidora, this show just didn’t strike me, despite being cute as hell.
Title: Ryo-Kyu-Bu
Sub Group I Watched: Ako-Taku, Doki
Episodes: 12
Rating (1-10): 6
Favorite Character: Tomoka Minato
Least Favorite Character: Mihoshi Takamura
Ooooooh… As cute as Hinata was, that sound was getting a little irritating after awhile.
I Take It You Hate Basketball? I wouldn’t say hate, but I was not fond of the sport. I’ve played most of the major sports, some with teams, and basketball was never my favorite. I’m too white for it really, and even more white than Larry Byrd.
What Is With Airi? I know “advanced development” is a thing and I knew a few girls in elementary school who were pretty developed by the end, but leave it to Japan to add in the extra fanservice and then mask it behind a tall complex.
The “Four Girls” formula has been working for anime since Lucky Star, and believe it or not, it doesn’t always work. But in the case of Yuru Yuri it worked pretty well. It unfortunately had to strike a balance between short skit and story, a line it fell off a few times, but overall it sported a decent cast of characters, including the nose-bleeding Chitose which of course ended up being my favorite character. But as the now-famous TOSHINO KYOUKO– GET OVER HERE AND FUCK ME image that has floated around the internet is any indication, the series suffers from many repetitious elements that really kind of dampen it’s overall effect. Still, it’s an enjoyable show and worth a watch if you want something cute and funny to pass the time.
Title: Yuru Yuri
Sub Group I Watched: Horrible
Episodes: 12
Rating (1-10): 7
Favorite Character: Chitose Ikeda
Least Favorite Character: Sakurako Ohmuro
Moar? I wouldn’t object, but some things are best left alone.
Not a Single Guy: The way I figure, when you have Yuri in the title, if you put a guy in the show, that would just be downright terrible. Like AIDS.
Dogakobo coped out, it’s like Hoshizora Lite! Perhaps, but at least they shortened the cast list by one or two characters and didn’t play it out like a visual novel. Plus without any male characters, we don’t have to worry about forced grope scenes, except with only females. In Chitose’s dreams.
So another five down, with Baka Test, Kamisama Dolls, Mayo Chiki, and Dantalian no Shoka ending next week, closing out the summer season. Shinryaku!? Ika Musume starts this week, in fact it should have already aired I think. Everything else starts next week:
Monday – Shinryaku!? Ika Musume (Starts 9/26)
Wednesday – Maken-Ki! (Starts 10/5)
Friday – Guilty Crown (Starts 10/14)
Saturday – Shakugan no Shana III, Working’!! (All Start 10/8)
Sunday – Ben-To, Mirai Nikki, Mobile Suit Gundam AGE (All Start 10/9)
No info on Boku wa Tomodachi at the moment.
Also, I am working to slightly redesign the blog a little, mostly just a new layout and banner. I’m also working on the sidebar a bit, including links to other blogs I read. If you have an anime blog that you’d like linked, let me know and I’ll take a look.
Finally, the final chart for the season will be out shortly. I will not be doing a Week 13 as there aren’t many shows left, rather I will have a final wrap-up post out next weekend before we launch into the new season. So you know, check then, or not. I-I-It’s not like I do these for you or anything~
